Hiram Halle

Who was Hiram Halle?

Hiram J. Halle was an American businessman, inventor, and philanthropist. He was also part owner of Gulf Oil company. Halle was dedicated to Jewish causes during World War II.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he dropped out of high school to work in his family business—a dry goods store. Hiram Halle was a shy, homely man considered to be a workaholic. He ran his a personal WPA between 1936 and 1939, bringing European Jewish exiles to Pound Ridge to work on refurbishing vintage houses in the area.